10 如何写一条过目不忘的英文slogan？

在大多数句子中，动词都是必不可少的关键部分。因此，当商家绞尽脑汁撰写广告语的时候，总喜欢在动词上下手。FT教你从动词入手，写一条过目不忘的slogan。

关于动词，我们所知道的

Many of us will have been taught two things about verbs.The first is old-fashioned grammatical advice: every sentence must have a main verb.Is that true? Not exactly.At least informally, many short sentences go without.You would be hard pushed to make the case that “Drat！” is a sentence and that “Rats！” is not.It is true, though, that almost all sentences have a main verb — and that arguing at the margins about whether something is a sentence or a fragment is a game for scholars.

关于动词，我们很多人都学到了两点。首先是老一套语法理论的忠告：每句话都要有一个动词。这是真的吗？并不尽然，至少非正式语境中的很多短句就没有。你也许很难解释为什么“见鬼（Drat）！”是一句话，但“老鼠（Rats）！”就不是。的确，几乎所有句子都有一个主要动词——在一个东西究竟是句子，或者只是句子片段的问题上据理力争是学者的游戏。

The second piece of advice about verbs is stylistic: it is that they are “action-words” and that they give any sentence its electric jolt of energy.Any number of style guides enjoin you to use “strong” and “vigorous” verbs, to avoid “weak” passive constructions and to beware turning verbs into nouns.

关于动词的第二点建议在于文体：正是那些“动作词汇”给句子注入了能量。众多教程都要求你用“强劲”且“富有活力”的动词，而避免“柔弱”的被动句，并且要注意将动词变为名词。

As always, this is too categorical.But there is something to it.If you turn your verb into a noun, you need to find another verb to take its place — and you will often end up with muddy sentences where a weak main verb is buried in the middle:

一如往常所言，这样的说法太过绝对。但它也有些可取之处。如果你把动词换做名词，你要再找一个动词来补上它的位置——结果往往弄出一个模棱两可的句子，句子中间还带着一个虚弱的主动词：

“The prompt implementation of the reconstruction programme is crucial to value-building going forwards.”

“重建项目的迅速执行对价值构建的进行意义重大。”

关于动词，我们所不知道的

There is nothing like the chilly wind of the market for sorting out grammar.If you look at the most memorable advertising slogans, it is striking how many are verb-first.“Just do it.” “Think different.” “I'm lovin' it.” “Got milk?” “Melts in your mouth …” “Tastes so good …” “Enjoy …”

市场营销中舞文弄墨的手段堪称登峰造极。如果你留意那些最有名的广告标语，你会惊讶地发现以动词为核心的竟有那么多：“Just do it.” “Think different.” “I'm lovin' it.” “Got milk?” “Melts in your mouth …” “Tastes so good …” “Enjoy …”。

No accident, perhaps, that these verbs are either in the imperative mood (a command) or the present tense.

这些动词要么是在祈使语气中，要么是现在时态。也许，这并不是巧合。

A problem with verbs is that they locate things in time and space: if something has happened, or is happening now, by implication it may not continue to do so.

动词的一个问题在于它们在时间和空间上定义了事物：如果某件事已经发生，或正在发生，那么就暗示着不会继续。

So one usage in particular intrigues me, because it seems to solve this problem.“Delivering quality first” is a BBC Trust slogan.If it sounds like anodyne business-blurb, that may just be the temper of the times: that subjectless “-ing” form of slogan is ever more widely used.

因此，我对一种用法格外感兴趣，因为它似乎解决了这个问题。“Delivering quality first”是BBC信托委员会的口号。如果你觉得它听起来像是乏善可陈的商业广告，可能是由于时态的原因：无主语的“-ing”形式广告语使用非常广泛。

“营销动名词”

This is what I've come to think of as the “marketing gerund” — though, technically, it's a present participle.

这一点使我渐渐开始思考“营销动名词”——尽管理论上它是现在分词。

This odd construction seems to be almost unique to the strapline-writing community.

看起来，这种怪异的结构在广告标语创作的领域几乎是独一无二的。

Why is it so popular? My hunch is that it is an elegant, if slightly cheesy, way of having your cake and eating it.It puts, right up front in your slogan, a strong and action-filled verb but it also makes it sound almost stative (describing a state of being rather than an action).The participle cues us to understand the verb as an ongoing thing.The delivering is not a thing that has been done, that's occasionally done or that will be done — rather, it is implied the delivering is continuous.Here is the dynamism of a strong verb, with the changeless stasis of the verb to be.

为什么它如此流行？以我个人的感觉，它是一个优雅、或许有些烂大街的双赢方案。它将强有力而充满动感的动词置于标语开头，同时它也表达了状态（描述了存在的状态而非动作）。分词的暗示让我们把一个动词作为正在进行的事件来理解。它所表达的并不是一件已经完成的、偶尔会做的，或是将会做的事——确切地说，它暗示了所传达的事情正在进行。强动词的活力就在于此，与be动词一成不变的静止相辅相成。

Who knows? If Ozymandias had rebranded — “Sneering with cold command” — that statue might still be standing.

谁知道呢？如果奥兹曼迪亚斯（雪莱诗作中描写的埃及法老拉美西斯二世）被重新描述成“冷酷地讥笑着”，也许这座雕塑会耸立到今天。

广告语小结

除了创新Creativity，英文广告语还有如下特点：

——简练Brief：

1.口语的运用：使广告具亲和力。如You've gotta try it！ I love it！（微波炉）

2.多用简单句：明快有力，引人注目。

3.多用省略句：突出关键词。如Refresh！（香皂）

——亲切Affability

1.运用现在时：使消费者坚信产品的持久与永恒。

2.运用主动语态：使消费者认为自己也站在一个主动的位置，而不会出现抵制情绪。如I'm lovin' it（快餐）

3.多运用“you/your/yourself”：如Melts in your mouth（巧克力）

4.运用祈使句：广告中很少有“please,will you?”等客气的字眼。如Just do it（运动产品）

5.运用疑问句：使消费者在不经意之间将广告印入脑海中。如Got milk?（牛奶）

6.无主语的“-ing”形式的使用：如Connecting People（移动通信产品）

词汇总结

enjoin [?n'd???n; en-]

v.命令；吩咐；嘱咐；禁止

Any number of style guides enjoin you to use “strong” and “vigorous” verbs, to avoid “weak” passive constructions.

众多教程都要求你用“强劲”且“富有活力”的动词，而避免“柔弱”的被动句。

anodyne ['?n?udain]

adj.镇痛的，止痛的；平淡无奇的，枯燥无味的，无刺激力的

If it sounds like anodyne business-blurb, that may just be the temper of the times.

如果你觉得它听起来像是乏善可陈的商业广告，可能是由于时态的原因。

cue [kju?]

n.提示，暗示；线索

v.给…暗示

The participle cues us to understand the verb as an ongoing thing.

分词的暗示让我们把一个动词作为正在进行的事件来理解。

jolt [d???lt; d??lt]

v.使颠簸；使震惊；摇晃

It is that they are “action-words” and that they give any sentence its electric jolt of energy.

正是那些“动作词汇”给句子注入了能量。

categorical [k?t?'g?r?k(?)l]

adj.绝对的；直截了当的；无条件的

As always, this is too categorical.

一如往常所言，这样的说法太过绝对。